Sarah had to stop narrating as the trap door was pulled open, and a sailor rushed down to check on everything. Sarah and Menma pretended to be asleep, hiding Snow between their bodies. They didn't open their eyes until they were sure the sailor had left the cargo hold, closing the trap door behind himself.
Snow, being the first to react, popped her head out and looked around. She purred softly, which earned her a hug from Sarah. Snow tried to struggle, but knowing the girl needed her comfort, she generously let Sarah hug her, though, that didn't mean she had forgiven Sarah for assaulting her boy.
Sarah took a deep breath, resting her cheek on Snow's soft fur, and looked sideways at the silent Menma. She blinked slowly and then continued softly.
"After we reached the Land of Water, my mother, who had lost everything including her noble name and had to protect and feed another soul, a little girl burn from her blood and flesh, began to struggle just to survive and try to raise her daughter."
"She tried a lot ways. Despite studying hard and knowing much, because of her status as an illegal immigrant, she wasn't able to find proper work. With no other choice, she started doing rough jobs, whatever she could find."
"She fought hard and struggled but never complained or felt sorry for herself. She raised her daughter in love. Even when the Third War began, and food prices skyrocketed while labor wages fell, she worked from dawn till dusk, and from dusk till dawn, just to keep her child from starving."
"After a few years, the light finally shined on her. She got a job at one of important ports as a cleaner, earning enough wages to live a bit more comfortably, not having to work so much like before. She could spend more time with her child, teaching her the educations of nobles and telling her stories of a bright future that awaited us."
At this point, Sarah began to sob, and tears slowly fell down her cheeks. Menma didn't say anything. She didn't need it. All he could do was promise himself that he would protect her until she could become the girl her mother had told her about.
Sarah sobbed for a while. After calming herself, she continued.
"After she got hired, for two years, our situation improved, but just as the war ended, things took a turn for the worse. With the returning ninja from the frontlines came refugees, some from the Land of Fire, others from the Land of Lightning, people who had betrayed their own countries or were spies from the very beginning."
"A few of them having nowhere to go, stayed at the port, eventually forming a gang, under the leadership of the one from the Land of Lightning. They, under that beast's rule, harassed everyone and everything that could move on it's own."
"And my mother, a woman with no backer, alone with a little girl, working as a cleaner but still extremely attractive despite cutting her hair short, wearing ugly clothes, and smearing dirt on her face to disguise herself, and not to attract unwanted attention, became one of their main victims."
"At first, it was just bullying, dirty words, things my mother had learned to ignore after years of hardship. But as time passed and the gang's power and lobby became stronger, things started to get worse. They poured water over her head, pushed her to the ground, sexually harassed her, beat her, and even stole her wages."
At this point, the air around Sarah shifted. It became chaotic and angry, a storm of emotions mirroring her inner turmoil. Menma noticed this and knew that what was coming next was the reason for her current situation.
"The leader of that gang, during one of their bullying sessions, saw my mother's face and body without disguise and lusted after her for days that followed."
"He began to target her specifically after my mother refused his forced relationship. Thugs' actions became horrible but even then, they didn't give her the chance to run away. One time, we tried to escape, but we were cornered by him, and then beaten senseless. My mother couldn't walk for two weeks after that. With nowhere to go and no other choice, she was finally forced to agree to his proposal, but only if he stayed away from me and protected her."
"We thought he would honor his promises but, what did we expected a betrayer to be? We never imagined that the beast would turn my mother into gang property, rewarding her to any member who did a good deed for the gang."
At this point, Menma clenched his fists. His chakra was barely under control, trying to break free as killing intent and anger boiled beneath his skin. Sarah wasn't much better either. She bit her lower lip, tears dripping onto Snow's fur, making it wet. Her voice became choked and hoarse as she struggled to keep it from trembling.
"My mother would come back home, ravaged and beaten, her skin covered in bloody bite marks and purple bruises. Her conditions worsening by each passing day, and nothing could quench or stop those beasts' lust and sick souls."
"During those days, I would hide in the shadows, hugging my knees. No one could find me, and slowly, I learned to master that ability. I became invisible, unseen by anyone."
"That's how I tried to run away from this ship several times, each time getting caught or stopped by Murakami. What followed was punishment, each time worse than the last. He even tied me to the mast and let sailors throw dirt and waste at me."
Sarah took a deep breath, trying not to be fazed by what Murakami had done, and turned back to her mother. But those memories, those memories were far more heartbreaking.
"She… She couldn't hold on. One night… she refused to go, and hid me inside a wardrobe. After some time passed… that bastard… not seeing her, broke into the house. He grabbed my mother's hair… pulling hard, trying to drag her to their pigsty..."
Her breathing became heavy and ragged. Pain was evident on her face, and hatred, finally started to shake her voice.
"My mom, she knew that was going to happen! She had been prepared. The moment she was about to be dragged out, she pulled out a knife and stabbed that bastard in the chest."
Sarah made the hand gestures of stabbing forward, imagining herself as the one doing it.
"The knife went deep, cutting the man's breath short, for eternity. The gang members, who heard the sound and had came to see the fun, seeing their boss die, attacked my mother, beating her till death, without a touch of humanity. I hid in the wardrobe, like before, and watched my mother die there, slowly and painfully, but smiling at me with those hopeful eyes I hadn't seen for a long time."
She placed Snow on the ground, beside her and hugged her knees, not showing her face.
"After they were done, they grabbed their leader's body and left. A long time later, I walked out of the wardrobe and went over, holding my mother's broken body. I couldn't even hold her properly, as every bone in her body was shattered."
"I cried for a long time, until I heard the sound of people coming toward the house, looking for something. They were probably after me, so I ran away, holding a torch with me."
"Slowly and silently, I walked to the gang's gathering place, where everyone, except for a few thugs, was discussing their leader's successor, not even wanting to wait until tomorrow morning.."
"I silently went around them, locking every exit and then, I set their fuel storage on fire and ran away. Not long afterward, a big explosion threw me to the ground. When I stood up, I saw them burning and screaming in pain and misery. I kept watching until their shouts were drowned by the flames and the people trying to put it out."
"Knowing there was nothing more for me there, I returned to our house and took my mother's body, limping to a hill where we used to play together. I dug a grave and buried her body, next to the place she used to sit and gaze at sea, waiting to reunion with her dead husband, crying the entire time. By the time I was finished, the sun was already shining over her simple grave."
"I was planning to run away afterward, but suddenly, the world turned dark. When I came to my senses, I was already on this ship, under Murakami's hand, being treated like an animal or a puppet."
Reaching this point, silence filled the cage once again. Sarah, hugging her knees and pressing her face against them, turned slightly, looking at Menma, waiting to see if he would hate her for her sad past or pity her because of what she had been through.
Menma was silent and couldn't decide what to do. He now understood more or less why the girl had kissed him so simply and why her actions had been so wrong.
The sheer weight of the pain she had gone through was far more than his own. Having a stable, proper personality filled with kindness was already a good result for someone like her.
Menma knew what he should do, but he was hesitating. He wasn't sure if he would be able to shoulder the girl's trust or if he could handle the responsibility he would be carrying with him.
After a long moment of thinking, Menma finally made up his mind. After he had thought it through, it was time to do what he needed to do. Only Sarah's answer waited for the fate and action they would take from now on.
Moving and then kneeling in front of Sarah, Menma placed his hands on his knees and looked into her eyes, dead serious.
"Sarah, I'm an Uzumaki, the only known one in the world. And I'm also from Konoha, the strongest and richest ninja village, possessing its strongest weapon of mass destruction and having an important identity, which could shake the entire skeleton of Konoha's political system. Wherever I go, I'll always be followed. Either by Konoha or by others. I'll always be hunted, as I am the most threatening existing a village could face. A tool that could be used against many things easily."
"Living with me means running, hiding, fighting, and losing bonds non-stop. And that's the simplest problem. I want to change this world. I have the power and knowledge to do so, and from the moment I begin, I will become the enemy of the entire world. At that moment, standing by my side means being involved in death again."
"I'm not going to talk about how hard life will be, but we may not even have time to sleep for days, always on the run!"
"Sarah, I can't tell you more because knowing more will put you in danger."
"I promise to teach you how to fight and survive on your own, so you won't need anyone's protection. So you won't have to worry about your future. Now, I'm going to ask you. Sarah, please think carefully because if you regret this halfway, there won't be any going back."
Taking a deep breath, Menma moved closer, reaching for Sarah's knees. He gently pulled them down and revealed her face, looking into her eyes to see the truth hidden inside. Holding her shoulder, Menma took another deep breath and asked her the question that would define their future.
"Sarah, are you willing to be my companion, walking by my side, facing danger with me, and enduring hardships together, until we reach the light at the end, never betraying or leaving each other behind?"
Saying those words, Menma waited for her reaction.
Sarah was confused at first, trying to process Menma's confession and match it with her limited knowledge about him.
The poison that had knocked her out with just a few drops, couldn't even make him drop his eyelids. The fact that he had swum through a raging storm to reach the ship. His ability to manipulate people with words, that unforgettable story performance. And above all, the earth-shaking fury she had witnessed earlier, the rage that made even the sea tremble.
All of it now made sense when put together with Menma's words.
She believed him.
She accepted the truth.
And more than anything… she acknowledged the path he had chosen to walk.
Sarah wasn't a fool or crazy girl either. She understood that Menma would save her from this ship. He would protect her, guide and teach her until she was strong enough to walk through the world on her own. What he was asking wasn't about now, it was about afterward.
Whether she would be one of many he would save along his journey...
Or whether she would be the first to walk beside him, as his comrade, through the fire and storm.
And in that moment, under the weight of trust and emotions placed in front of her, by an existing that had took all the world as his enemy, so no one else would face the same fate as her;
She couldn't help but feel something warm bloom in her chest.
Reason to live.
Goal.
Hope.
Trust.
A smile.
A happy life.
Remembering the dream she'd had earlier… the one where she had seen her mother again, Sarah smiled through her tears. Then, gently, she pushed Menma's hands away from her shoulders, freeing herself.
And threw herself into his arms, pressing against his chest and body, making him fall down on his back.
She hugged the smaller boy tightly, burying her face into his hair and neck. Her grip was trembling but firm, full of fragile strength.
"I promise I'll follow you to the very end of the world,
Not afraid to face every living being on this planet.
And even if you don't want me to… I still will.
So please… take care of me, Menma."
Feeling the emotions in her trembling voice and the strength of her embrace, while calling his name, Menma slowly wrapped his arms around her as well. Her frame, though larger than his, was far thinner, frail even, easily broken by small pressure, but right now, she was the bravest girl in the Menma's world.
He pulled her close and focused, memorizing everything about her.
Her scent. Her breath. The rhythm and sound of her heart. The aura that surrounded her. The emotions her soul radiated.
He was sure, even if she changed completely one day... even if she were to undergo twenty plastic surgeries...
He would know her in a heartbeat.
She had become part of him now.
A new soul beside his. Just like Snow.
A bond had been formed, as deep as the one with Snow.
Snow, however, wasn't too thrilled about this development.
Seeing the two like this, she jumped between them and began biting Menma.
Small nips here and there, full of jealousy and attitude, urging him to let go of the girl immediately.
"Ah! Ow, Snow! Stop it!"
Menma groaned in pain but then… laughed.
Wrapping his arms around her too, he pulled the little white cat into their embrace.
And just like that,
Menma's adventure party added one new member.
A girl with tears on her face and steel in her spine.
A girl who would be the anchor of their journey.
The emotional pillar that would keep them from falling into the dark when the world turned cruel again.
A girl who might one day…
Save their humanity that had fallen into darkness.